THIS STUFF IS GOOD!

Take a long look at the odd, pod shaped, fruit hanging from the tree below. I'm sure almost everyone in the world has tasted this fruit at least once.

I'm talking about chocolate. Did you ever think....hmmmm...Where does it come from? (No, not heaven. That's a good guess though.) Or what does it consist of? What IS it? Well just in case you ever do, and don't already know, the above picture is of a Cacao tree laden with fruit. Chocolate and cocoa are made from the seeds of this ridiculous looking fruit protruding awkwardly from the trunk. If the tree world has personalities, the Cacao tree has got to be a cartoon character.

Although chocolate may have a humble, modest, almost downright embarrassing beginning on the tree, it has been highly revered for thousands of years. The Aztec ruler Moctezuma ceremoniously welcomed the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes in 1513 with a cup of it...just after being asked to hand over the valuables. It was the drink of the Gods. Monteczuma had held in his hand the equivalent of a gold foil wrapped chocolate coin...worth zillions, but Cortes didn't think much of it, although he reported it did give him some pep during his laborious destruction of the city of Tenochtitlan while in search of silver and gold. The Aztec king knew "xocoatl", (cacao) was his most precious possession. It was rare, probably only enjoyed by the regal Aztec few, and perhaps even used for a type of currency. The Aztecs drank cacao with a hot chile spice or vanilla, so it was pretty bitter. It would be over 100 years after Cortes returned to Spain with goods from the new world that someone thought about putting sugar in it. Chocolate became an overnight sensation. (Some claim Spanish Royalty knew all about the recipe all those many years and kept the secret to themselves. Who could blame them?) Chocolate "bars" popped up all over Europe where the elite and affluent went to drink the thick, sweet, rich, and exotic beverage . The rest is history.

Inside the pods is a slimy goo, sort of cotton candyish, that is edible, but not too tasty. Inside the goo are the seeds.

They're taken out, dried, and then ground into a powder or cocoa...the stuff of which Milky Ways are born. Miracles really do happen.

Cacao trees flourish in tropical climates, mostly as an understory plant. The Dominican Republic supplies only about one percent of the world's supply of cacao, but for a country the size of Vermont and New Hampshire, and considering supply and demand, that's quite a chunk of chocolate.

You can buy real cacao pods from Puerto Rico here! www.montosogardens.com (click on the online store, then fresh tropical fruits) You can roast the seeds and make your own special blend of cocoa, or try growing a tree from the seeds. (Yellow usually means riper.)

There are some instructions on how to grow a cacao tree here. www.ehow.com/how_2104210_grow-cacao.html

For lots more information on what is decidedly my favorite tree can be found here:
www.xocoatl.org/tree.htm (The History of Chocolate )

and here: http://www.outofculture.org/